The arts in all their glory were centre stage at Clonmel Junction Festival's final weekend

Clonmel Junction Arts Festival drew to a close on Sunday evening with a rapturous finale concert with ConTempo Quartet, featuring a world premiere of Marian Ingoldsby’s string quartet written in memory of artist Eimear King.

Eimear’s work was projected during the performance, forming moving visuals for the outstanding performance.

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Video work by John O’Dwyer also formed a powerful accompaniment to composer Eamon O’Malley’s electric performance of his original work, ‘24:09’ on both Sundays of the Festival.

The new work for piano and electronics, inspired by Sean Kelly’s legendary 1985 time trial from Carrick-on-Suir to Clonmel in the Nissan Classic, received standing ovations at both concerts.

Oisín Leech (right) performing in concert at Old St Mary’s Church last Friday night for the Clonmel Junction Arts Festival. Picture John D Kelly 

Other highlights of the Festival's final weekend were two wonderful concerts at Old St Mary’s Church with Oisín Leech and Lemoncello bringing mesmerising performances to the beautiful 13th century church. In the words of one attendee: “It's a fantastic setting and what an amazing performance.”

Des Dillon brought magic to STAC Chapel with his enchanting puppet show. Young and old alike were transported into the natural world during the performance with his awe-inspiring finale bringing a huge blue whale to the stage.

The Buttimer family were out in force with Suzanne bringing the joy of singing and interactive fun for all involved at a choral workshop last Thursday and a coffee concert with a piano recital last Friday with more interaction from the audience – including key jangling as percussive support.

Her son Adam performed as part of the Bits and Bobs Orchestra, bringing a sensory-friendly concert for families to enjoy and try out all the instruments.

Clonmel’s Main Guard was filled to capacity last Friday with the ever-popular Spoken Word evening curated beautifully by Eileen Acheson.

Local, established and emerging writers shared the stage and read original poems on the festival theme of ‘Encounters’.

There were also special performances of community poems from St Mary’s Parochial School and the Suir Dragon Paddlers written in collaboration with Eileen.

Cikado Circus performers enthral visitors with their acrobatics in the Dome at Kickham Plaza during the Clonmel Junction Arts Festival. Picture John D. Kelly 

The Festival's second Family Fun Day was a veritable feast of dance and music despite the soaring temperatures. It included an intriguing performance on Kickham Plaza from SPLASH Lab, resulting from a creative exchange of 10 national, international and Tipperary-based artists.

The performance culminated after an intensive six-day residency in Clonmel, supported by South Tipperary Arts Centre, Tipperary Dance and Clonmel Junction Arts Festival.

Under the arches at the Main Guard offered welcome shade for the performance of ‘The Illumination’ written by Bea Conner-Pohl.

Originally from New York, Bea has immersed herself in Clonmel life, collaborating with Clonmel Theatre Guild to bring a series of vibrant performances telling the stories of strong women from cultures from around the world.

At the close of the Festival, Clonmel Junction Arts Festival’s Artistic Director Rebecca Lenehan said: “What a fantastic 10 days we’ve had and we were delighted to create a buzz around the town.

“Clonmel is a beautiful town and I’m delighted we brought so many wonderful events for everyone to enjoy.

“Thank you so much to all our principal funders the Arts Council and Tipperary County Council, our sponsors and partners, all the artists, the Junction staff and our wonderful volunteers for all their support.

“Festivals are all about bringing people together and we certainly did that. It was great to see so many people engaging with the various projects such as the 100 Dogs Project.

“My particular thanks to our organising team of Colin Everitt of Westgate Productions, Ann O’Malley, Iris Vos, Derek Harvey and Sarah Moloney. I’m really lucky to have such a great team around me in my first year as Artistic Director

“It’s been a wonderful 10 days and thank you so much to everyone for being part of Clonmel Junction Arts Festival 2025.”

Check out this article and more of John D. Kelly's photographs from the Clonmel Junction Arts Festival in this week's edition of The Nationalist now on sale in local shops. 

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